“And here’s the shocker: I will kill you. I will really kill you. And that’s why the rapporteur of the UN is here, investigating extrajudicial killing,” Duterte said, referring to drug dealers as he was addressing an orthopedic conference in Davao City, as cited by The Philippine Star.

“I told them that once you get involved in drugs I will kill you. I will ambush you, poison you, bomb you, whatever. Steal your wife from you,” the Philippines leader added.

The hardline president has come under heavy criticism for his drug crackdown, which reportedly has resulted in more than 7,000 killings.

Last month, a Philippines lawyer filed a complaint at the International Criminal Court (ICC) accusing Duterte of committing a “crime against humanity” by condoning and commissioning mass murder.

The allegations were refuted by Abella, who said that while “the so-called extra-judicial killings are not state-sanctioned or state-sponsored,” the only purpose of the lawyer’s complaint is to “undermine the duly constituted government of the Philippines.”